Apollo Mission Control team seeks to restore NASA site

A Kickstarter campaign seeks to restore the Apollo Mission Control Center.

NASA

With the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission approaching in 2019, retired NASA staffers are working with Space Center Houston to restore the original Apollo Mission Control Center and transform it into a museum.

Webster, Texas -- home to various aerospace companies working on NASA's current deep-space missions -- will match up to $400,000 raised by the Kickstarter campaign. That's in addition to the $3.1 million the town has already pledged.

For anyone interested in donating to the project, Space Center Houston is offering perks on Kickstarter including a mission patch designed by "Star Trek: The Next Generation" set designer Michael Okuda, a private tour of the Mission Control room with Apollo-era flight director Gene Kranz, lunch with Apollo flight controllers and an invitation to a VIP event with "The Martian" author Andy Weir.

As of Monday, $300,500 has been pledged -- well beyond its original $250,000 Kickstarter goal. The fundraiser ends August 19.